Streaming services have changed how people discover documentaries, offering an endless library that makes choosing the right film surprisingly overwhelming. There’s so much information out there, and when you’re already carrying the weight of eco-stress or following climate news closely, the last thing you want is a documentary that leaves you feeling hopeless rather than informed.
This collection brings together some of the most powerful, eye-opening films across climate, nature, and environmental storytelling. Each one shows a different angle of today’s ecological challenges, and many also highlight where solutions might grow. These documentaries don’t just explore the damage already done; they capture the urgency, the innovation, and the human resilience shaping the planet’s next chapter.
RIVERBLUE
Released: 2017
Director: David McIlvride and Roger Williams
Canadian conservationist and paddler Mark Angelo takes on a three-year journey that turns into a global investigation across rivers on several continents. Instead of simply admiring waterways, he documents the harsh reality behind one of the fashion industry’s darkest secrets: the widespread dumping of toxic dyes and industrial waste into freshwater systems. His exploration highlights how fast fashion quietly fuels a form of “hydrocide,” where polluted rivers lose their ecosystems, wildlife, and even their identity as living waterways. Throughout the film, Angelo meets activists, river defenders, and local communities who reveal just how deeply fashion’s hidden costs run beneath the surface.
ARTIFISHAL
Released: 2019
Director: Josh Murphy
A pescatarian lifestyle is often praised as more sustainable than meat consumption, but this documentary challenges that assumption head-on. Artifishal dives into the industrial and ecological consequences of the global fishing economy, showing how hatcheries, fish farms, and overfishing collectively push wild salmon populations toward collapse. The filmmakers trace the journey from the Pacific Northwest to Norway’s fjords, exposing how our desire for affordable seafood is unraveling underwater ecosystems. The film opens with unsettling footage of fish processing, and the rest of the documentary doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths about how quickly well-intentioned choices can damage marine life. As the filmmakers say, the path to extinction often begins with good intentions.
ICE ON FIRE
Released: 2019
Director: Leila Conners
Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, this documentary dives into the terrifying feedback loop created by melting Arctic ice. As methane gas escapes from thawing permafrost, the planet faces a risk of temperature spikes far more devastating than most people realise. Instead of focusing solely on doom, the film examines experimental technologies, early-stage innovations, and science-driven ideas that might slow or even reverse escalating emissions. It’s part warning, part exploration, and part search for hope, offering a sweeping view of the climate crisis from scientists working at the frontlines.
CLIMATE REFUGEES
Released: 2010
Director: Michael P. Nash
Not all regions will experience climate change equally. Some will endure drought, famine, crop loss, or rising seas long before others even feel the shift. Climate Refugees asks a difficult but essential question: what happens when millions of people lose their homes, their farmlands, or their access to drinkable water? The documentary connects environmental change directly to political instability and national security risks, showing how population pressure, resource scarcity, and climate-driven displacement can combine to create global crises. It’s a stark look at how human movement may become one of the century’s defining challenges.
BEFORE THE FLOOD
Released: 2016
Director: Fisher Stevens
Following Leonardo DiCaprio as he travels from melting ice sheets to smog-heavy cities, this documentary explores climate change already visible in plain sight. Along the way, he challenges political leaders, skeptics, and interest groups who continue to deny scientific consensus. With support from industry icons like Martin Scorsese, the film blends personal discovery with investigative journalism, highlighting how economic interests, misinformation, and political games slow down meaningful climate action. The result is both visually striking and emotionally charged, capturing the urgency of taking the crisis seriously while there’s still time to act.
ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH
Released: 2018
Directors: Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal, and Nicholas de Pencier
This documentary argues that human activity has altered the planet so profoundly that we’ve entered a new geological era — the Anthropocene. Through sweeping cinematic scenes, viewers see colossal mines, sprawling landfills, and coral graveyards, each representing a dramatic shift caused by industrialisation. Scientists and researchers explain how human design now shapes coastlines, forests, oceans, and even the atmosphere. From the concrete walls covering much of China’s coastline to the collapse of coral systems, the film suggests that our environmental footprint has permanently changed Earth’s natural signatures in ways future generations cannot undo.
THE UNDAMAGED
Released: 2018
Directors: Miha Avguštin, Rožle Bregar, and Matic Oblak
Filmed across Slovenia and the Balkan region, this documentary follows a group of kayakers determined to protect some of Europe’s last wild rivers. Their journey brings them into contact with local communities and activists fighting plans for nearly 3,000 new dams — structures that threaten delicate ecosystems, fish populations, and cultural heritage tied to these waterways. As the kayakers move from Slovenia to Albania, they experience untouched rivers that feel increasingly rare in the modern world. Their mission becomes a symbol of resistance against unchecked development and the loss of nature’s most pristine spaces.
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
Released: 2019
Director: John Chester
When a couple decides to leave urban life behind and pursue regenerative farming, they quickly realise that returning to nature isn’t simple — but it can be profoundly rewarding. This documentary follows their early struggles, from failing crops to unpredictable weather patterns, and slowly shifts into a story of resilience, patience, and ecological harmony. Over several years, their land transforms from depleted soil into a living ecosystem full of birds, insects, crops, and wildlife. The uplifting tone offers a refreshing contrast to darker environmental documentaries, showing that small-scale change can still create meaningful impact.
THE RIVER AND THE WALL
Released: 2019
Director: Ben Masters
Five friends embark on a journey along the Texas-Mexico border to understand how a massive border wall would reshape the environment. Traveling on horseback, bicycles, and boats, they encounter wildlife corridors, fragile river systems, and vast landscapes that would be irreversibly affected by such construction. Their expedition blends adventure with environmental inquiry, revealing how political decisions can overlook delicate ecosystems in the name of infrastructure.
SEA OF SHADOWS
Released: 2019
Directors: Richard Ladkani, Sean Bogle, and Matthew Podolsky
This tense, high-stakes documentary follows a group of investigators, scientists, activists, and the Mexican navy as they race to save the last remaining vaquitas — a critically endangered porpoise species. The story unfolds like a thriller, revealing how illegal fishing operations, drug cartels, and international traffickers devastate the Gulf of California. As the team hunts for poachers and exposes the black market fueling the crisis, the film highlights how environmental destruction often hides within criminal networks that exploit both nature and vulnerable communities.
THE IVORY GAME
Released: 2016
Directors: Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson
This investigation into the global ivory trade takes viewers deep into the high-risk world of undercover operations. While much of the world considers ivory a relic of the past, the film reveals a thriving black market driven by demand from wealthy buyers and criminal networks. The documentary follows activists, rangers, and secret investigators as they track smugglers, expose corruption, and document how poachers continue to slaughter elephants at alarming rates. It’s a gripping look at how greed fuels extinction, and how dangerous the fight becomes for those trying to protect the last remaining herds.
THE HOTTEST AUGUST
Released: 2019
Director: Brett Story
Set during one sweltering month in New York City, this observational documentary captures the quiet unease simmering beneath daily life in a changing climate. Instead of focusing on melting glaciers or distant disasters, it turns its lens toward ordinary people navigating rising heat, economic pressure, and uncertainty about the future. The conversations, neighborhoods, and subtle moments create a portrait of how climate anxiety blends with everyday struggles. It’s a reminder that large-scale crises don’t erase personal worries — they become intertwined with them.
AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL
Released: 2017
Directors: Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore returns with a renewed sense of urgency. This follow-up looks at how the climate crisis has evolved, and how misinformation tactics have become more sophisticated over time. Gore travels the world meeting with scientists, world leaders, and ordinary citizens affected by climate disruption, all while continuing his push for global investment in renewable energy. The film captures both the political resistance he faces and the technological advancements offering pathways to progress. It reinforces that the battle for a sustainable future is far from over.
CHASING CORAL
Released: 2017
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Coral reefs, often described as the rainforests of the ocean, are rapidly disappearing due to warming waters and pollution. Chasing Coral follows a team of divers, marine biologists, and underwater photographers determined to document this decline. Their mission takes them across multiple oceans as they build time-lapse cameras capable of capturing coral bleaching events in real time. The emotional impact comes not only from the stunning visuals but from witnessing entire ecosystems vanish within weeks. The documentary raises urgent questions about whether reefs can survive — and what their loss means for marine life as a whole.
2040
Released: 2019
Director: Damon Gameau
Inspired by his hopes for his daughter’s future, Damon Gameau sets out to explore solutions rather than dwelling on threats. He visits communities, researchers, and innovators who are already implementing promising ideas that could reshape energy, agriculture, transportation, and food systems. The film blends documentary footage with imaginative sequences that depict what a healthier world could look like in twenty years if current solutions are embraced. It’s optimistic without being naive, offering a refreshing shift from doom-heavy narratives.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Released: 2015
Director: Avi Lewis
Based on Naomi Klein’s book, this documentary examines how capitalism, corporate power, and environmental destruction are deeply interwoven. The filmmakers travel from Canada to India, China, and Europe, highlighting communities fighting against pollution, exploitation, and careless development. Business leaders and political decision-makers are contrasted with activists and local residents living with the consequences of environmental degradation. The film argues that tackling climate change may require not just greener technologies but a fundamental shift in how society values nature and economic growth.
HOW TO LET GO OF THE WORLD AND LOVE ALL THE THINGS CLIMATE CAN'T CHANGE
Released: 2016
Director: Josh Fox
Josh Fox undertakes a personal and wide-ranging investigation into climate change by traveling to 12 countries across six continents. Rather than focusing solely on what humanity may lose, the film highlights what remains untouchable — community, resilience, courage, creativity, and the human spirit. Fox meets activists, families, frontline communities, and young climate defenders trying to preserve what they can while facing the reality that some environmental tipping points may have already passed. The film becomes part meditation, part travelogue, and part call for emotional strength in the face of uncertainty.
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Released: 2015
Director: Jerry Rothwell
This documentary tells the origin story of Greenpeace and the daring young activists who helped spark the modern environmental movement. Focusing on Robert Hunter and the group’s early campaigns in the 1970s, the film uses rare archival footage to recreate the risky voyages and tense confrontations that defined the organization’s early years. Their mission to stop nuclear testing in Alaska becomes a turning point that inspires global activism, showing how a handful of determined individuals can shift public opinion and challenge powerful institutions.
CATCHING THE SUN
Released: 2016
Director: Shalini Kantayya
This documentary challenges the assumption that renewable energy is unprofitable or impractical. It follows unemployed workers in the United States and major tech entrepreneurs in China as they compete to lead the global clean-energy market. Along the way, viewers see how solar power has already transformed communities in countries like Germany and India, where renewable industries flourish. The film portrays the clean energy race as a defining economic and environmental opportunity — one that countries must embrace if they want to stay relevant in a changing world.
TOMORROW
Released: 2015
Directors: Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent
Instead of dwelling on environmental collapse, this film highlights creative and practical solutions already being tested around the world. The filmmakers travel from village farms to urban classrooms, exploring new models of agriculture, education, economics, and energy. Their message is simple but powerful: local action, multiplied across many communities, can create global change. The tone is hopeful and grounded, encouraging viewers to imagine alternative futures where innovation and collective effort can still turn the tide.